The Dragonhearted Working Title
by LiraelDragonheart
Summary: When a head-strong woman with a mysterious past, present and future joins the fellowship, along with her long-time friend - a quiet, ovserving woman, will it help or hinder the quest?


**_Disclaimer_ - Tolkien owns LOTR. I own Lirael and my friend (who helped me write this) owns Etatirri.**

The sun drifted lightly down through golden leaves to rest on the clearing where the fate of middle earth would be decided. Lord Elrond's powerful voice echoed in the morning stillness, and his words were heavy with the weight of what he was saying.  
  
'Peoples of middle earth, friends of old, we have gathered here to determine the fate of our world. The darkness is growing in the east, evil is rising. What we decide today may very well lead to the doom of us all. Frodo, bring forth the ring.'  
  
A young man, though he appeared to be but a child, rose from his seat on the edge of the clearing and hesitantly stepped towards the center, where a pedestal of sorts had been erected, presumably for just this purpose. Those gathered watched with bated breath as he reached out, something clutched in his hand. For a moment, he paused, then plopped a small golden ring onto the stone table. He then hurried back to his seat, as though afraid he might turn around and try to take back the object he had so hesitantly left behind.  
  
The moment was somewhat taken away from by the sudden cry of pain from the distance. Hardly a moment later, a tall woman with long, dirty blond hair and clad in a dark black cloak that shielded her face from view walked into the clearing, dragging one of Elrond's guards behind her by the foot. 'That,' she began, addressing Elrond himself, 'was a futile attempt to keep me away.'  
  
He stared, his face full of an anger that few now present had seen before, and it was some time before he spoke again. 'Why are you here, half-breed?' This term very rarely escaped Elrond's lips, and the council (for the most part, for Boromir of Gondor was staring at the ring) turned to look at the lord of Rivendel.  
  
'You should be the one to talk of half-breeds,' she replied, calmly.  
  
Aragorn, who was known to many as simply 'Strider', chose this moment to intervene. 'Women are not welcome here.' He said. 'This is a council for-' but he never got to finish, because the woman was now standing just next to him, and before he could get out another word, she lifted him into the air and slammed him into the paved ground on which they stood, leaving the ranger- and heir to the throne of Gondor – to stare up from the earth, bewildered and confused.  
  
'You were saying?' she demanded, then turned to Elrond once more. 'If you wish to have a hope in hell at defeating Sauron, you are going to need me.' At this, she held out her hand, and a ball of fire appeared in her palm. As they watched, the fire twisted into sparking tendrils of electricity, then froze into a globe of ice, then melted into water, which held its form for a moment as she held it, before she dropped it onto Aragorn's face. Spluttering, the ranger got quickly to his feet, then backed away from the strange being beside him.  
  
One of the elves – Legolas, the prince of Mirkwood – calmly stood and looked at her. 'What is your name?' He asked, curious.  
  
'She goes by the title of the Black Dragon. Few are privileged enough to know her true name.' There was a few seconds of confusion as people looked around for the source of the voice, only to find that it came from a young woman who had just stepped out of the trees. She wore a light cotton dress of sky blue, and had bright red hair that rivalled that of the golden leaves above her.  
  
Now, Elrond was simply furious at this second intrusion to his council. But before he could protest, Aragorn decided to make another scene. He walked up behind the Black Dragon, who in the sudden arrival of her friend, who was called Etatirri, did not hear him come up, and he pulled back her hood to reveal bright green eyes. Seeing this, Aragorn stepped back and yelled, 'DEMON!' He stepped back into Boromir, who was still caught up in the sight of the One Ring. The captain of Gondor suddenly realized that something was going on. He looked up, saw the Dragon's startling green eyes and tipped his chair backwards. Of all the council attendees, only the elves of Mirkwood and the new arrival did not seem alarmed by the sight before them. Legolas even went so far as to (tentatively) approach the woman and look into her eyes, examining them in a polite but curious way.  
  
'What are you looking at?' The Black Dragon asked, warningly.  
  
Taking a step back, suddenly realizing how rude he was being, the prince responded, 'In all my wanderings, I have yet to see a being with eyes like yours. I have only heard of one who has them, and the rumours are that wherever they go, they leave behind nothing but destruction.' He didn't sound afraid, simply curious.  
  
'That is in the past, but do not confuse her with the one she was hunting.' Spoke up the newest arrival once more. 'Many things have changed since then.'  
  
Legolas turned to Elrond, 'You knew of this?' He asked, a touch of anger brushing his usually calm voice. 'You knew that a being with her power existed, and yet you said nothing? Did not even invite her to this council, at which we will decide not only her fate but the fate of the world? Why?'  
  
'Why?' The lord of Rivendel stood to reveal his full, not-all-that- intimidating height. 'Look at her! Can you see nothing that separates her from the rest of those invited? She is a WOMAN!'  
  
Nobody heard one of the dwarves (Gimli) mutter to himself, 'I don't much like elves, to say the least, but elven women?'  
  
It was at this point that Gandalf spoke for the first time. 'Yes, Elrond, she is a woman, and one who I can see is more powerful than any Istari I have ever met.'  
  
Elrond grit his teeth and sat down, staring defiantly at the pedestal on which stat the one ring, seemingly forgotten about by all but Boromir and Frodo. After a few moments, the two women also took seats, and none seemed willing to challenge the Dragon.  
  
Etatirri took a chair next to Legolas, leaving her friend to sit beside Aragorn, who had edged to the far side of his chair and was eying the Dragon nervously from the corner of his eye.  
  
There was silence for a long time, and in the silence Etatirri noticed that she, too was being watched. Turning, she was slightly startled to see Legolas' deep blue eyes gazing at her.  
  
'Can I help you?' she asked, and unlike her friend's warning tones, Eta's voice was softer, and held an honest question to it.  
  
'How... Why... how are you friends with the Dragon?' he asked, after a moment of trying to find his tongue.  
  
'That is a long story, though the short of it would be that my village was about to be destroyed, and she was able to save it. Since then, we've just sort of stuck together.'  
  
'Then it is decided.' Elrond was saying. 'The ring will go to Mordor. Now, I cannot order you to go, so I ask for volunteers.' Turning their attention back to the council, it was plain that Frodo had already agreed to go as the ringbearer, and Aragorn was heading over to the young hobbit.  
  
'You have my sword. You may not always have my arm to wield it, but you will always have my sword.'  
  
Etatirri rolled her eyes and muttered something along the lines of 'pathetic fool'.  
  
The Dragon stood, as well, and Aragorn swiftly got out of the way. 'If by my life or death I can protect you, and I will.' She said, simply.  
  
At this point, Etatirri stood as well. Elrond's scowl deepened. 'I may not know the art of war craft, or weaponry, but I am a healer, and I offer my services as such.' She said.  
  
Legolas was next, offering his skill with the bow, followed almost immediately by Gimli's announcement that he, too, would go – if only to keep the ring from falling into the hands of an elf. At the mention of the ring, Boromir looked up, a dazed look in his eyes. 'Ring? Oh! Right, I'm coming too!'  
  
Again, Etatirri rolled her eyes, 'Subtle,' she muttered.  
  
'Oy! We're coming too!' Came the voices of too trouble-making hobbits, who had been wreaking havoc on Rivendel since they had arrived.  
  
Elrond looked at them, thought of his home and how he wanted it to stay in one piece, and nodded eagerly. 'Yes, you can go. Excellent.'  
  
'I told you two to stay hidden!' Etatirri said to them, smiling, amused.  
  
'You didn't think we'd miss this, did you?' Pippin asked. 'Where are we going again?'  
  
Now, the Dragon rolled her eyes, fingering her knife. Eta came up behind her and shook her head. 'Lirael, no.' she whispered.  
  
'But, they would feed all of us for two or three days! Besides, they're really annoying.'  
  
'Yes, but they have an important part to play in the future.'  
  
'What, another vision?'  
  
Etatirri nodded. 'I've seen two possible endings to this quest – and neither looks inviting.'  
  
It was clear that her friend didn't want to go into the details at that point, so Lirael, more commonly known as the Dragon, dropped the subject.  
  
One other had joined their group, another hobbit, with hair much lighter than that of the other three. He approached the Dragon and her friend. 'Hello,' he said good-naturedly. 'My name's Samwise Gamgee, but you can call me Sam.' He held out his hand to shake and looked up at the Dragon's green gaze. 'You have very pretty eyes.' He said plainly.  
  
Etatirri covered her mouth to keep from laughing too terribly hard. 'You think so, do you?' asked the Dragon.  
  
Sam nodded, smiling, Frodo stared at him, Elrond's eyes seemed ready to pop out of his skull. Aragorn stormed over and dragged Sam away from the pair. 'What did I do?' demanded the clueless Sam.  
  
'She's a demon!'  
  
'What? She doesn't LOOK like a demon...'  
  
'Looks can be deceiving, my dear Samwise.' Frodo informed him.  
  
On that note, the council departed and the various members of the fellowship of the Ring spread out to prepare for the journey ahead.


End file.
